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I've seen true beauty;
it was made,
of the most dazzling blues,
that even on a sunny day,
made the sky, look gray;
the richest browns,
so pure and fine,
that even the most
gorgeous chocolate,
grows mold in my eyes;
and the brightest white,
I cannot describe,
that to everything else,
now, I am blind
I think
we should cut
God some slack;
he went, and had,
a billion children;
I'm going crazy,
with just three
Stop!
Don't be so quick
to throw off
that blanket of loneliness
An ant with its colony
never stops to think,
where am I headed?
But the heron,
lonely, wary, proud,
waits patiently,
stalking the shore;
no other chooses her nest,
no leader pulls her
to a lake,
pointing, to say:
there! fish!
I shudder at the thought
of being alone
I am repulsed by the thought
of being together
Snug in this blanket,
there is nothing left,
except to confront myself
I salute this coopers hawk
circling, lonely in the sky;
You heed none,
except death
In this temple
I'm left with no choice
but to consider myself
Does a mountain
feel its grandeur?
Does a lake
know its depth?
The dead don't attend
our memorials
don't heed
our admiration
Tomorrow will never come
Next time will not exist
So, let us
love and cherish
each other
While we have
the chance
Who am I?
I don't want to know
Even in front
of the mirror,
I close my eyes;
Even in the quiet
room of my thoughts,
I hum a tune
A little of you,
a little gentler,
a little less brave
Am I the sun?
Rising in the hopeful east,
Setting in the lonely west
A little of you,
a little more open,
a little less righteous
Am I who I want to be?
And how would I know?
Even if you tell me,
I'll cover my ears
A little of you,
a little more collected,
a little more skeptical
Am I the moon?
Reflecting you,
No life of my own
Who am I?
I want you to know
Why did you read my poems?
They aren't for you
This is an invasion of privacy
Do you like them?
They are about you
What do they make you feel?
They are about life
Please don't tell anyone
They are about truth
and justice and love
I hope you liked them
and told all your friends
how talented I am
They're about sadness
I'm so embarrassed
Peoms end in lovers meeting
Did you send them
to your mother?
I'm really not talented
but one day I hope to be
I listened while you
called your sister,
why didn't you tell her?
I'm thinking of writing
to a publisher
I ran out of ideas
I wrote three more today
this is the depth of my soul,
bared for you
It really is a private notebook,
you know
I press my face against the door,
you talk about the weather,
your mother
Poems end in lovers meeting
It really is private,
an invasion of privacy
Oh truth! Oh truth!
You have to be real;
If there's no truth,
how can I know,
right from wrong?
If this pen is in my hand?
Without truth,
what can I know?
My sweet child,
my innocent child,
what is this truth you seek?
Can you point to it?
Can you sense it?
Don't be obtuse,
I can't point to the truth
but that doesn't make it
any less true
that this pen is in my hand,
this blanket is grey
And which part
of the pen,
which strands of fabric,
hold that truth?
You infernal skeptic!
You dense man,
it just means
we both see it,
we both feel it,
over and over
It's just a word
that describes
the reliability
of experience
The foolish boy,
what did he expect?
He asked for patience,
I gave him
three energetic kids;
He asked for wisdom,
I gave him questions to answer;
He asked for courage,
I gave him difficult times
Did he expect
a bolt of courage
from above?
Wisdom slipped
into his mind
as he sleeps?
No, I designed him
with these muscles
from the start
All that's left
is to exercise them;
Shall I lift the weights for him?
What's next, will he sneeze
and pray for someone
to wipe his nose?
I spend all my effort
straining against
the immutable past
pulling toward
an inextant future
that I forget to apply
the gentle pressure
required to change
the present
My three little critters
rise before the dawn,
Daddy, will you play with me?
They cry and tug my arm
Eyes open to open eyes,
will pit against will;
One to stay asleep,
the other, to start the day
I stumble to the bathroom,
my three little ducks
all in a row;
Wash my face, brush teeth,
change without privacy
At the stairs, Daddy up!
Do the silly run?
Hey, what about me?
Up and down again
Will you eat a banana? No
Cereal? No. Bagel? No.
Then what do you want?
Can I have a banana?
Two coffees, four baristas,
one dog ready to go out,
one spilled milk,
one childish squabble;
Stop to take my zolies
Trash to go out,
dishes in the sink,
did everyone eat?
Is everyone dressed?
The dog wants pets,
Daddy ew! We need a diaper.
My three little lovelies,
ready for the day